Inside Out Blog

How to Eat Healthy In the Drive-Thru

Everyone knows that stopping at a fast food restaurant can lead to unhealthy eating–food high in fat, sugar, and salt. To counter this image, many of these types of restaurants have begun offering lower-calorie fare, including salads, fruit, yogurt, and chicken dishes.

So you'd think that ordering a salad would be the best option available. Well, it depends. Surprisingly, some fast food salads can be as full of fat and calories as a burger and fries. Many restaurants are describing their salads as low in carbohydrates, but this doesn't always mean low in calories. The main culprit is usually the salad dressing. A typical salad dressing packet contains 150 to 200 calories. Many salads start out at over 400 calories even without the dressing, so these calories can quickly add up. To keep the calorie count down, use a smaller amount of dressing, opt for low-fat dressings, or bring your own fat-free dressing from home.

Salads with chicken can also be deceptive. Grilled chicken is always a better choice than crispy fried chicken, which alone can add over 100 calories to your salad. Another surprise may be that taco salads are some of the least healthy fare offered in these restaurants. They usually have half the calories that an average woman needs for the entire day in one salad. Most of the calories are contained in the shell. To make this type of salad more nutritious, skip the shell, get it made with grilled chicken instead of ground beef, and use salsa instead of sour cream.

The Villages of Lake Jackson Apartments in Lake Jackson, Texas goes above and beyond to improve your daily lifestyle with our spacious floor plans, unparalleled amenities, and incomparable customer service. We hope these tips will inform, educate, and ultimately, provide you with a better way-of-life.